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The room hushed with anticipation as Desmond ‘Actor Boy’ Dennis took a sip of water, then leaned into the mic to read the opening lines of Chapter 15 from The Young Warriors by V.S. Reid. A few members of the small audience, relaxed on bean bags and lounge chairs, had studied the Caribbean classic in school. Still, there was something deeply nostalgic about hearing it read aloud without the pressure of writing an analysis.
The novel follows five teenage boys from a Maroon village as they set out to defend their community. Tucked inside the wellness lounge at the 2025 Book Fairy Festival, the audiobook session — presented by Caribbean audiobook platform Odiyo — invited book-lovers and aspiring narrators to experience storytelling not just through sound, but through familiar, beloved tales.
“It’s always good to see people come out and enjoy the things that they love, and in this case, it’s literature,” Dennis told The Sunday Gleaner.
A contrast to his usual high-energy movement and dramatic facial expressions on stage and on screen, the actor was calm during his reading. Yet, he still managed to hold listeners’ attention with the cadence of his voice.
“As actors, the voice is one of the primary tools we use — even onstage. And in this instance, it becomes a matter of if your voice were moving as a body, what would it look like? What it becomes for me when doing work of this nature is about creating that parallel … establishing what my voice would be doing to ensure that the same picture can be created,” he explained.
Knowing no two people speak alike, Dennis shapes each character’s voice based on their interactions and the personality details the author provides.
As a storyteller, he never tries to limit himself to any one platform of expression.
“As people, we tell stories with our whole being, and so if a new platform comes up for us to continue expressing ourselves, it ought to be something we explore. I tell stories onstage, I tell stories through film, so audiobooks are another way for me to explore the craft of storytelling,” he added.
For those interested in narration, Dennis suggested starting with material you genuinely enjoy. He noted that the Caribbean is home to many great writers, and thanks to the school system, much of their work is already familiar. Still, he encourages reading broadly and leaning into imagination to bring the words to life.
While audiobook platforms aren’t new, Odiyo, launched earlier this year at Calabash, stands out by focusing on Caribbean voices, regional dialects, and authentic island soundscapes. And the bonus? It aims to feature books from the secondary-level school curriculum.
For Saeed Thomas, founder of the app, partnering with The Book Fairy Festival was important to show that the love of books and reading doesn’t have to be linear and can, in fact, serve as a complementary component in fostering a deeper connection to stories and culture.
“Aside from the festival being a revolutionary space, we appreciate partnerships like this to show the difference that we can bring to the market,” Thomas said.
He also noted that since the app’s inception, the strategy has been to first secure the publishers to give permission for the books to be used, which has so far been working, “...so now it’s about getting the users. I’m confident that the more content we have, the more users will come.”
In a year, Thomas envisions Odiyo offering more than 100 titles. It may not yet be a household name, but he hopes it will be well-known enough that people recognise and talk about it.
“I’m also thinking long-term... I’d want us to get into podcasts, textbooks ... anything that can be converted to audio,” he highlighted.
As the festival came together, Shanique Sinclair, curator and founder of The Book Fairy Festival, emphasised the importance of expanding the wellness element this year to include IV therapy services from the Fairy Loft, arts and crafts activities for children, and the Odiyo Experience.
“We brought in the Odiyo Experience so people could step away from the main activities of the festival and really immerse themselves in some quiet time. At its core, The Book Fairy Festival celebrates the holistic spirit of the Jamaican people. So taking the wellness lounge and its elements to another level was really important because mental health is something we really need to focus on,” Sinclair said, adding, “I have been in some of the darkest times of my life, and outside of God and reading my Bible, reading books is what held me together. I know that not many people are aware of just how enriching literature can be. So why wouldn’t we bring literature and wellness together?”
English (US) ·